1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure generally relates to semiconductor fabrication and the chemical spraying, rinsing and drying of semiconductor wafers and substrates. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a semiconductor wafer chuck that is particularly adapted for applying a chemical spray to the backside of the semiconductor wafer during chemical spraying and rinsing operations.
2. Related Art
During semiconductor wafer and substrate processing, wafers are often subjected to spinning processes to aid in chemical dispensing and coating. At various steps in these processes, wafers may be held or retained by wafer chucks of various configurations. Semiconductor wafers are typically secured to wafer chucks using a vacuum sealing mechanism. However, as chemicals—such as solvents and acids, among others—are used during a chemical spray process, the chemicals may come into contact with the backside of the wafer, which is undesirable.
Additionally, attaching and detaching a wafer from a wafer chuck may cause damage to the wafer. For instance, the wafer may not be centered properly on the wafer chuck and/or may not be removed properly from the wafer chuck, thus leading to potential wafer damage. In some cases, the architecture or form of the wafer chuck may cast shadows over portions of the wafer backside such that liquid cannot properly reach all areas of the wafer.
The present disclosure is intended to address at least one of the foregoing issues.